Regional plan for natural environments
Strategic planning document that makes it possible for activities and projects to be planned prior to development in the right regional locations, without disturbing natural environments of regional interest.
Project phases
What is a regional plan for natural environments?
Under the Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water, regional county municipalities (MRCs in the French acronym) became responsible for developing and implementing a plan for the regional wetlands and bodies of water in their territory by June 2022.
The MRC’s Council of Mayors chose to include all natural environments of interest in this plan in order to ensure consistency with the revision of the Land use and development plan. The ultimate goal of the Regional plan for natural environments is to incorporate the conservation of natural environments of interest into land use planning by promoting sustainable, structured development.
Practically speaking, the Regional plan for natural environments is being developed to meet the needs of Brome-Missisquoi and identify which natural environments of interest to conserve. There are many reasons why a natural environment might be selected. For example, some environments may be selected because they purify the community’s drinking water or retain water during floods, while others counter soil erosion, purify the air we breathe or are home to a specific or especially diverse pool of flora and fauna.
Conservation objectives will be set, and appropriate protective measures developed. The Regional plan for natural environments will identify environments of interest to be protected (preserved in their present state) and environments that could be used sustainably for specific purposes and have their resources leveraged (recreational activities, forestry, maple syrup production, etc.). The plan will also identify environments that need to be restored due to degradation to the natural environment.
After developing this plan, the region will be able to establish its conservation strategy and put forward concrete measures to reach the collectively agreed upon objectives.
For more information, visit the government website on regional plans (French only).
Learning about the region
The overview describes the region and its main features in terms of its development and natural environments.
It summarizes the most recent sociodemographic, economic, regional, environmental and cultural data available for MRC Brome-Missisquoi, allowing for proper documentation of the region’s past, present and anticipated future. This gives different stakeholders a shared vision of the region.
Check out two informational videos below about the environment and the human land use context in Brome-Missisquoi and scroll down to the Useful links and documents section below for an overview and summary diagnosis of the regional plan for natural environments.
Joining in
There will be a consultation process for developing a regional plan for natural environments that takes into account all the components, concerns and issues of the different municipalities, key stakeholders and region’s residents.
A participatory approach
Throughout each phase of the plan’s development and in compliance with public health measures, we’ll be organizing and inviting you to join webinars, workshops, resident focus groups, co-creation workshops, surveys and much more. Stay in the loop!
Share your ideas and opinions at any time: amenagement@mrcbm.qc.ca
Together, let’s build a sustainable region. Together, let’s build our Brome-Missisquoi!
Useful links and documents
Informational videos
Check out our two informational videos on the environment and human land use in Brome-Missisquoi!